Mining giant BHP Billiton spent close to $19 million in financial year 2010-2011 for executive salaries, which Chairman John Buchanan described as investments geared to reap more company earnings in the future.

Buchanan called BHP's executive remuneration policies a way of ensuring that the best of the best will work long-term for the largest resources firm in the world and in the long run "reinforce sustainable value creation."

"To achieve our business goals, our remuneration must remain competitive to attract and retain talented executives, enabling us to realise our opportunities and further develop our business," Buchanan said in a statement quoted by the Australian Associated Press.

As shown on its latest remuneration report, top BHP executives Marius Kloppers and Andrew Mackenzie earned raises in the last financial year, with Mackenzie as chief executive of non-ferrous materials getting a 50 percent hike in the period while Kloppers was awarded with an 8.5 percent upgrade.

BHP reported that Mackenzie took home $9.17 million last year while Kloppers as company CEO collected a year-round aggregated pay slip of $11.37 million.

The fat paychecks, BHP said, were their executives' just rewards for steering the mining firm into an annual local profit of $23 billion in financial year 2010-2011, a spike of 86 percent from the previous year.

As of June 30 this year, Kloppers was paid by BHP a base salary of $2.06 million and given cash bonuses that reached $2.29 million.

Aside from his basic pays and bonuses, the CEO also garnered both short-term and long-term incentives that amounted to more than $6 million in the same period whereas his previous rewards in terms of share options only registered $3.65 million in the prior year.

As the company prepares for another record production in the current financial year, payments to top BHP executives are only expected to rise further alomg with income from the mining boom.

BHP is reviewing its remuneration policies, according to Buchanan, but any amendments would only take effect after the current financial year.